Increased pneumonia risk: The past week has seen strong fluctuations in temperatures, from cold frosty nights to warm days. As a result farmers have reported increased levels of pneumonia in sheds, particularly with weanlings and young calves. Calm and warm days also have the effect of reducing the airflow through sheds, resulting in high levels of stale, clammy air, increasing the risk of pneumonia, especially in calf creeps that are not bedded. On calm days and nights, leaving doors of sheds open will help increase the airflow through sheds by creating positive pressure and forcing the stale air out. Where there is a risk, it is important to devote time to herding – watch calves and weanlings twice a day to detect any early signs of sickness. These may include bellowing, coughing, slow feeding and lethargy. Prompt treatment is essential, as is isolation of sick animals, in an outbreak of viral pneumonia. Farmers that have poorly ventilated finishing sheds will clip the backs of cattle to avoid excessive sweating.

Monitor Cow condition: Any increases or decreases in dry cow condition should be completed six to eight weeks prior to calving. A cow calving in late January or early February should be back with the main herd now. The target BCS for a spring calving cow is 2.5. Once an over fat cow reaches a BCS of 2.5, she should be moved back with the main herd and fed average-quality silage to appetite. Keep an eye on the condition of autumn-calvers – excessive body weight loss after calving can increase the anoestrus period and lead to reduced conception rates. On average-quality silage (65-68DMD) a typical autumn-calved cow needs to be supplemented with 2-3kg of concentrates until she goes back in-calf.

CashFlow: Cashflow can make or break any business in a short period of time. Most dry stock farmers got a cashflow injection in the past few months from direct payments and cattle sales. However, some farmers have contacted me in the past few weeks, having come under slightly increased cashflow pressure due to reductions in the Single Farm Payments. At this time of the year, it’s always advisable to sit down and work through a cashflow plan for next year, especially if there is any increase in the farming operation or if you are thinking of making any investments on the farm. Having a detailed cashflow plan will in many cases be essential when negotiating stocking loans and overdraft facilities with your bank.

Soil sampling: Slurry spreading will begin next month on several drier farms. If soil sampling was not carried out, now is the time to take samples when there has been no slurry or artificial fertilizer spread in over six weeks. Samples should be taken every 4ha, avoiding cow paths and in a zig-zag motion across the field, to get a representative sample. If there are areas that are unproductive, it may be worth taking an extra sample there to help identify problems. Sending samples now should result in analysis being returned before slurry is spread from January onwards. It may also be worth considering testing the nutrient content of slurry this spring, to avoid under applying P and K, especially to silage crops.